11 Things To Know Before Starting Up

What’s one surprising thing you wish you knew before starting up?

1. Lead From Love

“It might sound hippy-dippy, but I led my company from a place of anxiety for years. That hindered growth. Once I discovered how to lead from a place of love and gratitude, the landscape of RTC changed. We started attracting a higher caliber of clientele, our quality improved, our processes improved, and overall our company was infused with more joy. Anxiety still creeps in, but now I have a plan.”

2. No One is Good at Everything

“It’s really easy to think of yourself as a Jack-of-all-trades and believe you can handle any task that comes your way. But you can’t. There will always be tasks that you don’t have the skills to complete, and it’s okay to outsource those. It’s better to spend some money on an accountant than to try to learn payroll.”

3. Organization Is Key

“As we become a larger company, we are realizing how chaotic it is to manage all the paperwork. I never like to delete stuff in case we need it in the future. Nevertheless, it became severely overwhelming and made us inefficient, so we decided to invest inBox, a high-speed scanner, and interns to help us organize and digitize everything. It was worth the time and money.”

4. People Talk a Big Game

“With how much people hype themselves and others up, you’d think they were made of gold. But the truth is many lack real substance. Business partners, employees and affiliates often disappoint when you’re starting up a business. But then you learn to filter through the “talkers” and the “doers” so you end up working with people who are exceptionally good at what they do.”

5. Write Down Reliable Processes

“You start up with so much energy, so many ideas and endless possibilities. You quickly maneuver and start to grow. In that growth phase, however, nobody told me how incredibly important it is to implement reliable and repeatable processes. You should write everything down and take note when something goes well. When you have a process in place, your capacity for scale is unparalleled.”

6. The Vision Will Change

“My co-founder and I started with a very strong, clear vision of what we wanted our business to become. That vision shifted over time as new opportunities arose, and we learned from trial and error. Initially, I resisted changing course because I felt like we were giving up on our vision. But eventually, I realized we were creating a better, much bigger business than we originally imagined.”

7. Work Smart, Not Hard

“In the beginning, I thought I was being effective by simply working 80 hours a week. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The adept startup owner should instead focus on ways to get things done effectively in a shorter period of time.”

8. Clients Don’t Always Pay on Time

“It’s a simple truth of business: if you work with clients, it’s not a question of if they will pay late, but a question of when. Create a cash buffer as soon as humanly possible so you’re not left scrambling when a check comes late or gets lost in the mail.”

9. Find Your People and Hold on to Them

“I wish I understood the importance of finding (and holding on to) a good “better half,” be it a partner or a group of tightly knit friends. Starting up is an all-consuming endeavor with high highs and low lows, and I’ve found that the support and understanding of my husband has been key to keeping me sane. All entrepreneurs struggle to maintain that important work-life balance.”

10. People Are Complex Creatures

“As an entrepreneur, you think building a company is about customers, products, sales and culture. However, the reality is that the bulk of your time with an early startup is focused on building your team and supporting them to be great. That means you are part recruiter, part coach, part psychiatrist and part referee. But if you love helping people be great, it’s an awesome experience.”

Photo Credits

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.